Until That Day
by paynesgrey
Summary: In her last days of high school, Kagome has one steady rule: she doesn't date because she is still waiting. Post-Manga. Inuyasha x Kagome. Oneshot.


AN: Post-manga series. Written for the "Hope" challenge at firsttweak on Livejournal.

Until That Day

After settling back into modern times, Kagome became a great student; no one could argue that. Many classmates had whispered about her miraculous recovery from her various illnesses, and she came back to school, full throttle, only to excel in her make-up classes. She caught up beyond people's expectations, and she went from being known as a sick invalid to a strong, super student who hadn't time for anything - or anyone.

Kagome had notably excused herself from dating. Rumors bounced around that she still pined after her last boyfriend, and that things didn't work out in the end.

It explained her moments of sadness when she wasn't vigilantly enthralled in her schoolwork.

"I was surprised, Kagome-chan," Yuka had told her one time, "when you finally told Hojo-kun how you felt."

"I don't know why it's so surprising," she said, sipping on her cola at the local WacDonalds. If anything was a constant, it was a late afternoon meal with her friends after school. "He wanted to continue dating when I came back, and I no longer date."

"Why is that, Kagome-chan? Did Inuyasha really break up with you?" Eri asked, and she meekly leaned back into the seat as Kagome gave her a frigid look. "It's just that... you never talk about him."

"I can't see him anymore," Kagome said rigidly. She stood up from her spot. She turned her head away from her friends before they could see her cry. "And I'm not interested in Hojo-kun. He's just wasting his time."

"But you're almost eighteen! Graduation is coming up! If you're not going to college, what are you going to do? Are you going to marry someone? Have kids?" Ayumi asked bluntly. Unlike Kagome's other friends, Ayumi didn't tiptoe around the issues.

"Why must I make a decision right away?" Kagome stopped. She turned around, and her friends were relieved to see she was in control of her emotions. She smiled softly at them. "I'm not going to decide what I'm going to do right now. I just want to graduate. I don't want to date anyone. I just want to be comfortable with myself, okay?"

Her friends nodded, but Kagome knew deep inside that wasn't really why she didn't date. It wasn't the reason why she decided she wasn't going to college.

In reality, she was waiting. The well would open up for her, and if she made any future plans, they would be null and void.

She didn't just hope to see Inuyasha again; she _knew_ it was only a matter of time.

--

"Thanks for the ride, Yamato-san," Kagome said, grabbing her bag and sliding out of his car. Her tutor, Yamato Akito, beamed at her as she smiled back. "Same time after school tomorrow?"

"Sure, Higurashi-san," he said, and he pushed his medium length hair behind his ear. Kagome thought he wasn't bad looking. He had a pleasant face with a mischievous smile that reminded her of Kouga. "It's your choice. I already told you I don't think you need to study anymore for this final exam. You have a good grasp of the concepts. You just need to study on your own for an hour or so."

Kagome smiled wider at him. "I know, but I need someone to keep an eye on me. If I study this stuff alone, my mind tends to wander. If you're there, I know that I'll study better."

"But you're a pro at ancient Japanese History," her tutor said. "I feel like I'm a piece of furniture when you're going through the drills."

Kagome sighed lightly. "Trust me, you're more helpful than you think." She turned around and walked up the high stairs of her family's shrine. She could feel him watching her as she walked away.

--

Kagome had aced her final exam in Japanese History. She knew that she would, but as she had said before, Akito Yamato was a beacon amidst her turbulent emotions, and he helped concentrate on the material. It was so easy for her to daydream of ancient Japan and it's lush green forests and days full of mysticism and folklore. It was easy for her to get caught in the scenery, look up into the trees of her fantasy and hope Inuyasha was lounging on a branch above her.

She would smile in remembrance, but it didn't last for long. Sooner or later she would bow down her head onto her arms and sob.

She missed him so much, and she felt cursed for loving someone that was long dead, caught in a time where she felt she didn't truly belong. Kikyou had told her that once, and despite being the one who'd survived in the end, she started to believe that maybe the dead priestess had been right.

Maybe Kagome was no use to that time anymore, and that she truly belonged here.

Without a tutor there to ground her from her melancholy thoughts, Kagome wouldn't had been able to even stomach her final history exam, and for his help, she'd been most grateful.

After her test results came back, Yamato came up to her with a brilliant smile. "Congratulations." He looked down at the high mark on the test she held in her hands. "Of course, I had no doubts."

"Well, I thank you for helping me. I couldn't have done it without you," Kagome said, and she bowed to him graciously. Yamato waved his hand.

"Don't worry about it. Listen, how about we go out for some dinner? To celebrate?" Kagome looked at him with surprise. There was an expression on his face she'd never seen before. She should have foreseen this. She inwardly wilted.

"Um, I'm sorry, but I have plans with my family, and I have some jobs at the shrine..."

Yamato laughed, and Kagome didn't appreciate the mocking she sensed in his voice. "So the rumors are true. I thought maybe you just weren't interested in Hojo-kun and that you had better taste." Kagome looked away as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Am I right?"

As politely as she could, Kagome brushed his hand off. "No. The rumors are true. I'm not dating. In fact, I have a boyfriend. He's just... missing, but I believe I'll see him again."

Yamato rubbed his chin. "So that's you're story. You're waiting for a man that's missing." Kagome nodded, and she looked away and felt inadequate from his piercing gaze. "You're saving yourself for him, and I didn't have a chance to begin with."

Kagome turned to him apologetically. "I'm sorry; I really do consider you a friend."

Yamato nodded, and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I hope I didn't come off as...pushy."

Kagome smiled. "Not at all. I'm flattered; it's just that… please continue to feed the rumors. I'm not dating, and I'm in love with someone else."

"Of course," her former tutor said. "He's a lucky guy; I hope you find him."

"I will," Kagome said, and after a moment of uncomfortable silence, Yamato took his leave, and Kagome was left alone to walk back to her family's shrine in the sunset. When she made it halfway home, she decided to check the well again. Tomorrow she would be graduating, so it might have been presumptuous to expect the well to open tonight.

However, after her encounter with Yamato, she yearned for Inuyasha more than ever. She wished he'd been around to prevent her from dealing with such moments.

If Inuyasha were by her side, it would be impossible for her to feel this lonely.

--

Snagged in a whirlwind, Kagome's life catapulted through graduation and then through ancient times again. Her hopes and dreams were fulfilled, and just three weeks after Yamato-kun had propositioned her, she was back in her hanyou's arms, and her former tutor became nothing more than a two-dimensional memory.

So when she told Inuyasha about him, she delighted in his annoyance.

"I don't think I want to hear about these bastards coming onto you when I was waiting here three years for your return," he said with annoyance.

Kagome giggled. "You don't have to worry about them anymore. I'm here. Besides, they're far ahead in the future," she said with a grin.

"Yeah, but I still don't have to like it," he said, holding her tighter. Kagome nuzzled against his cozy chest as they cuddled together on a grassy hill, enjoying the warm summer day.

Kagome let out a small yawn. "You only say that because you can't beat up people who haven't been born yet," Kagome said.

"Keh, yeah, so?" he said defensively, making Kagome chuckle again.

She broke away from their snuggle and sat up to look into his eyes. "Inuyasha, I know you were waiting for me all of those years, but you know I didn't do anything with anyone else, right? I worked on my school, and I always thought of you." She paused, and she lifted her hand up to rub an ear. He moaned with satisfaction, and then their gazes locked. "Only you."

He bent down and kissed her deeply, brushing away the hair in her face and tilting her chin. Kagome leaned into him, accepting the kiss with fervor and feeding the satisfied spark in her belly that had been unfulfilled all these years. She'd make up for being apart, and she knew Inuyasha was keen on that idea too.

"I know you were waiting. I always knew," Inuyasha said.

"I hoped every day. I hoped that I'd be here again," Kagome said, falling against his chest again. She closed her eyes and felt the steady beats of his heart. "Sometimes I knew that I didn't need to hope."

"Oh? You were giving up?" Inuyasha asked, and he fell into a comfortable motion of running his fingers through her dark hair.

"Of course not," Kagome answered. "I hoped at first, but then I knew. I knew I didn't have to wait any longer and that I'd be here again someday."

"Feh, yeah," Inuyasha said. Kagome looked into his face, and she could see his eyes close as he lulled into slumber. "I knew too. I had some doubts, but it didn't matter."

"I'm yours," she said, finishing his thought.

She curled up comfortably next to him, and sleep caught her as well. The dream of the moment became their reality, and the frightened feeling inside her had long disappeared the moment she was back into Inuyasha's arms.

She had waited for him, and Kikyou had been wrong all along. She returned to him, just as she knew beyond her moot hopes and fears that this was where she always belonged.

END


End file.
